ACC ~ Acts 11 v27 - 30

OVERVIEW:

Modern commentators accent the connection between Jerusalem, as mother church, and Antioch through Barnabas. They also raise the vexing historical question as to how this account of Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, his second since his conversion (see Acts 9:26), accords with Galatians 2:1. There is no clear answer. The “worldwide” famine mentioned also draws historical attention, though the term Luke uses (oikoumenē) could mean the empire. The ancient commentators concentrate rather on the moral and spiritual lessons that these events as recounted by Luke can teach us. The famine that was suffered by the Jerusalem church and borne in common by the church in Antioch causes us to examine how we respond to the needs not just of our near neighbors but even of those upon whom we depend for hearing the gospel. Our failure to hear, in the cry of the poor, the call of the gospel, is in itself a spiritual famine for us much as it is a physical one for those we ignore (CHRYSOSTOM). Some in our midst are supposed to call us to greater awareness of how God’s blessings come to us through one another in times of trial, whether we be the ones who suffer need or the ones called to give (BEDE, CHRYSOSTOM). Those in Antioch, aware of the poverty and tribulations of those in Jerusalem, were prepared to meet these needs (BEDE).

11:28 | A Great Famine

A TWOFOLD FAMINE AND A TWOFOLD ABUNDANCE. CHRYSOSTOM: But no one does this now, even though the famine is more severe than the one then. For it is not the same when misfortune is borne in common and when everyone else has plenty, but the poor one is famishing. Back then, even those who gave were poor. “Everyone according to his ability,” it says. The famine is twofold, just as the abundance is twofold. Back then, this was a severe famine—a famine not only of hearing the word of the Lord but also of being nourished by alms. Back then, both the poor in Judea enjoyed the benefit and those in Antioch who gave their money, and the latter more than the former. Now, both we and the poor are famishing: they from a lack of necessary sustenance and we because we, in our luxury, lack the mercy of God. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 25.

REVELATION THROUGH THE SPIRIT. BEDE: Agabus can be said to mean herald of tribulation. In accordance with his name he also here prophesied a general famine, and [as we learn] below, he prophesied chains for Paul the apostle. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 11.28.

11:29 | The Disciples Determine to Send Relief

THE FAMINE AN OCCASION OF SALVATION. CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see how for them the famine was an encouragement to salvation, an opportunity to give alms and a harbinger of many blessings? And so it could have been for you, if you were so inclined. But you were not. The famine was foretold so that they might prepare themselves beforehand for almsgiving. For they were enduring terrible hardships, but before this they were not suffering from famine. And they sent it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. “The disciples,” it says, “each according to his ability.” Do you see that as soon as they believed, they bore fruit not only for their own people, but also for those far away? HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 25.

THE SAINTS IN JERUSALEM HAD HELPED THE APOSTLES. BEDE: They knew that the famine would rage most severely in Judea, and especially in Jerusalem, where among the saints there were poor people who had sold their goods, homes and fields, and had brought the proceeds to the apostles, so that they had no way left to obtain much more money. And some were punished by the unbelieving Jews for their confession of the faith by having their own property taken away. To them the apostle said, “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods.” Among these givers of alms we are told of the pious deed of Helen, queen of the Adiabeni, who purchased grain from Egypt and most generously provided for the needs of those dwelling in Jerusalem. She thus merited a sepulcher to honor her before the gates of the same city. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 11.29.